Supporting structure for elevated railway tracks and method of elevating the tracks



May 30, 1939. H.-E. CULBERTSON 2,160,399

SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FOR ELEVATED RAILWAY TRACKS AND IETHOD OF ELEVATINGTHE TRACK 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Ju ly 3, 1939 INVENTOR. flaw/4R0 f (05mm? ffw f/Mm 0 1 M A'ITORNEY5 i 3 I H. E. c BERTSON ,3

SUPPORTING STRUCTURE EVATED RAILWAY TRACKS AND METHOD 01" ELE ING THETRACKS File d July 3, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VENT OR. flat 141F0 5Chef/v60 ff fiwam c jfwi ATTORNEYS y 1939- H. E. CULBERTSON 2,160,399

surron'rme s'rnuc'runn FOR ELEVATED RAILWAY mucus 7 AND METHOD orsmavnme was rmcxs Filed July 3, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v;:. 2 am I...

HIIIIIHIIIIIIHII fie ATroRNEYJ Patented May 30, 1939 UNETED STATESPATENT OFFICE Howard E. Culbertson, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Application.luly 3, 1937, Serial No. 151,894

11 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved supporting structure forelevated railway tracks and to an improved method of elevating tracks,and has particular reference to the manner of elevating tracks through acongested district where the right-of-way is limited.

Heretofore, in elevating railway tracks under the conditions mentionedabove, i. e., through a congested district where the right-of-way is oflimited width and where it is essential that the tracks be elevatedwithout interfering with the usual trafiic, the method employed has beenas follows: First, one of the tracks is removed and a trestle is builtalong the entire distance where the tracks are to be elevated, thistrestle being formed largely of vertical timbers or piling driven intothe ground where the removed track was previously located. After thesetimbers are driven, the upper ends of them are cut oil to grade andcapped, the timbers are braced, and a track is laid thereon'toaccommodate one line of traflic. Then, in a similar fashion, theadjoining parallel track is removed, a second trestle is built in thelocation previously occupied by the removed track, which is then placedon top of thetrestle, and the second line of traffic elevated. If thetraffic system involves more than two tracks, this same operation isrepeated for the three or more tracks, as the case may be. After allthe-tracks are elevated, it has been customary to build gravity walls tosupport the fill and the traflic, and in some instances, depending uponthe character of the soil, it has been necessary to drive or placeconcretepiles under each gravity wall near its couter edge to withstandthe overturning moment of the wall.

The fill of soil, cinders or sand and the like is dumped from the'carson the trestles andthe timbers of the-trestles are buried in the filland remain there, although they perform no useful purpose afterthetracks have been ballasted on the fill, it being unfeasible tosalvagethe timbers of the trestles, except possibly the horizontal timstructureheretofore employed, including a decided saving in concrete, theelimination of the necessity for trestles and the loss of timberincidentthereto, the elimination of piles as a bearing structure for theouter walls, a decrease in'time and labor required to elevate thetracks, and less interference with traflic.

The above objects are attained by entirely eliminating'the trestles andby erecting transversely N5 of the right-of-way over the spacepreviously occupied by one or more of the tracks, a series of piers orpier sectionswhich with the retaining wall or walls form a permanentsupporting structure for the fill and the elevated tracks, thestructure, however, being built in such a way that the piers or piersections form temporary supports for the elevated tracks until thesupportingstructure is completed to receive the fill on which thepermanent tracks are eventually placed. In the I preferred embodiment ofthe invention I employ, in place of the trestles heretofore utilized, aseries of box-type retaining walls composed of concrete piers, which arearranged at intervals transversely across the spaceoccupied by the trackor tracks 5 tobe elevated, and concrete apron walls which areconstructed between the ends of the piers and are so interlockedtherewith that with a ,minimum amount of concrete in the construction of.the walls they are enabled to withstand, when suitably 2 reenforced,with an ample factor of safety, the load created by the fill and bythetrafiic after .the permanent tracks have been installed.

In accordance with my invention, thepreferred actual method ofconstruction and track elevation consists, first, in building partsorsections of these piers along the length .of track to .beelevated;second, constructing an elevated track upon these piers, which areplaced a suitabledistance apart, depending upon the load to be sup- 1,ported, and after this track is in service to use it in the constructionof the apron .walls between the pier endspthird, the completion of thepiers by extending them acrossthe entire width to be spanned by them,and the building ofthe apron walls between-the ends of the extendedpiers. After this, the necessary fillis made between -the apron wallsandthe tracks are installed 'on. the fill, at proper line and grade. Theabove method is utilized with slightmodifications,.regardless of thenumber of,tracks to be elevated. In case the system includes two'tracks,the procedure outlined above will be followed. If there .are more thantwo tracks, as, for-example, three or four, two trackswill be removed,pier sections will bebuilt across the space previously occupied bythere- 'moved tracks, two, elevated tracks will be .temporarilysupported thereon, the apron walls will be placed as described, and thenthe remaining track or tracks will be removed and the. piers-will becompleted by extending them entirely across the right-of-way, afterwhich the fill will be supplied and the elevated tracks permanentlyerected on the fill. Regardless of the number of tracks, while one ormore elevated tracks are temporarily supported on the pier sectionsextending inwardly from one or both sides of the right-of-way, theremaining track or tracks, during the construction of the pier sectionsand apron walls, will be left at their original level so as to take careof the required railway traific.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certainnovel steps of my improved method of elevating the tracks and in thedetails of construction of the supporting structure for the tracks andfill.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein I have shown thepreferred embodiment of my invention,

Fig. 1 shows in plan two sections of a long series of piers which arebuilt for the length of trackage to be elevated, the sections being ofsufiicient length crosswise of theright-of-way to support the firsttemporary elevated track;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same with the track temporarily supportedthereon;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view substantially along the line 33 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 3, but showing in section theapron wall which is built between the pier ends of Fig. 1 after thetrack is temporarily erected on the latter, and this view showing alsoan adjoining track still at its original level to take care of thetraffic while the other track is temporarily supported on the piersections;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 after the structure has beencompletedand the two tracks permanently elevated, this view assuming byway of illustration only a two-track system;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the box structure which is employed, this beingcomposed of piers which extend across the right-of-way and apron wallswhich are constructed between and interlocked with the ends thereof;

Figs. '7 and 8 are perspective fragmentary views, the former lookingtoward the inner side and the latter looking toward the outer side,these Views showing particularly the arrangement and the manner ofinterlocking the piers and the apron walls;

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view through two adjoining piers withthe track temporarily supported thereon;

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view corresponding to Fig. 4 showing amodification wherein the trackage includes four parallel tracks, the twoouter tracks being shown temporarily supported on the partly constructedpiers;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 5 with the four tracks in their finalelevated position;

Figs. 12 and 13 are transverse sectional views showing a modificationwhich may be employed in the ramp leading to the upper level to whichthe tracks are adapted to be elevated, Fig. 12 showing the structurepartly completed and Fig. 13 showing the tracks in their final elevatedposition at a given point in the length of the ramp;

Fig. 14 is a plan View of Fig. 12; and

Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 12, but showing a four-track system.

The tracks to be elevated through a congested district or a portion of atown or city are usually of considerable length, and the trackagegenerally consists of at least two tracks and frequently more than two.On the first and second sheets of the drawings a two-track system isillustrated, whereas, in Figs. 10 and 11, my improved method and tracksupporting structure are illustrated in connection with four paralleltracks. However, the method and the principle of the structure involvedin carrying out the method are the same regardless of the number oftracks.

Assuming for the moment that there are two tracks only to be elevated,with my method one track is removed for the required distance, in-

cluding the ramps if necessary, and the other track will take care ofthe traffic normally served by the two tracks. I then erect at suitableintervals, depending upon the load to be supported, for the fulllengthor distance that the tracks are to be elevated, sections or portions 55aof reenforccd concrete piers l5 which sections are eventually extendedin the manner hereinafter explained to form complete piers I5 shown inFigs. 5 and 6. These pier sections l5a extend from one side of theright-of-way inwardly partway across the latter a distance a littlegreater than the width of one of the tracks. On these pier sections |5ais placed a main track T, the other track T (Fig. i) being left at itsoriginal level and taking care of the main trafiic until the track T canfunction for that purpose. The track T may be temporarily supported onthe pier sections lEia in any desired manner, but in this instance theties t are laid on steel beams t of sufiicient length to span theadjacent pier sections l5a, and these in turn are supported on the piersections by any suitable short timbering t After the track T is elevatedbut before it becomes a track to accommodate trafiic, it may be used, ifnecessary, in the construction of an apron wall It, the panels orsections of which are interlocked with the ends of the pier sections l5ain a manner to be subsequently explained. Then the second track T isremoved and the piers l5 are completed by building onto the previouslyerected sections I 5a sections lEb which extend across the remainder ofthe right-of-way and are generally somewhat longer than the sections i5afirst erected, as shown in Fig. 5. The two sections 156 and E52) aretied together by reenforcing bars 11 and become one unitary monolithicstructure.

Next the second apron wall !6 is constructed along the opposite line ormargin of the rightof-way, the panels or sections being between the endsof the pier sections I 52) and interlocked therewith, as in the firstinstance. This completes the box structure illustrated in Fig. 6, which,it will be understood, will be continued the full distance that thetracks are to be elevated, preferably, however, not including theinclined ramps and other situations, as will be explained presently.

Referring again to the box structure and certain desirable features ofthe piers and apron walls, the piers rest on foundations l8 and theapron walls on foundations i9, to which the piers and apron wallsections will be anchored by vertical reenforcing bars indicatedconventionally at 2!] in some of the figures. These foundations will, ofcourse, be of suitable depth, depending upon the nature of the soil. Thetops of the pier sections l5a and !5b are horizontal for the majorportion of their length, but near the outer ends of the sections theyare preferably inclined upwardly, as shown at'ltc, and then horizontallyto the end of the pier. The extreme outer ends are widened as shown at|5d and between the widened' portions l5da'nd'the inclined portions l5cvertical grooves I56 .are provided to receive the ends'of the apronwalls, the interlock being clear ly shownxat 2 I in Figs. 6, v7, and 8.The thickened ends of the piers and the notches inwardly thereof formsubstantialshoulders which resist the outwardmovement of the sections ofthe apron walls under the pressure due to the fill and traffic. Theshouldered outer ends of the piers are suitably reenforced to resistshearing under this pressure, as indicated conventionally at Ila. It

will be understood, of course, that the panels or sections of the apronwalls will be suitably recnforced generally by vertical and horizontalbars indicated conventionally at 22, but the details of which I have notattempted to illustrate as the amount and character of thereenforcements in any part of the structure can be made anything desiredto suit the requirements. I prefer, however, that the ends ofthe-sections of the apron walls where they are interlocked at 2| withthe outer ends of the piers be not tied to the piers by any type ofreenforcement as the interfitting ends of the apron Wall sections andpiers are preferably left free for expansion purposes.

The box construction of transverse piers and retaining walls of theapron type now having been completed for thefull length, the fill,designated 23, is now made between the apron walls and the piers and toa suitable height above the latter/using for this purpose any kind ofsuitable'material, such as slag, earth, or sand, after which thepermanent elevated tracks designated T in Fig. 5 are made upon this filland ballasted at proper grade.

The above description assumes a two-track system, but, as previouslypointed out, the system frequently involves more than two tracks, but,regardless of the number of tracks, my improved method and form ofconstruction, with slight modifications, can be utilized veryefiectively. For example, in Figs. 10 and. 11, I have shown a way inwhich a system of four tracks can be elevated by my improved method andsystem of piers and apron walls. In this instance, the two outer tracksare first removed and reenforced concrete pier sections 24a and 241) arebuilt inwardly from the opposite sides of the right-ofway, and afterelevated tracks T are temporarily elected on these pier ends, thereenforced concrete apron walls 25 are built between the outside ends ofthe piers 24a and 24b along opposite sides of theright-of-way andareinterlocked with the pier ends precisely asin the construction firstdescribed. Meanwhile, the intermediate track or-tracks- T are utilizedfor regular trafilc purposes until they are ready to be takenup and thetraffic diverted .to the elevated tracks T Next the tracks T areremoved, after which the piers are completed by joining opposite pierends 24a and 241) by adding the intermediate sections 240. Thus thecompleted piers "extend "entirely acrossthe right-oi-way and form withthe apron walls 25 box-like structures extending the full length ofthe'track to be elevated and similar to the structure'illustrated 6,except as to the width of 'the oblong enclosures. Nextthe fill 26 ismade between the apron walls and over the piers, as illustrated in Fig.11, and on this fill will be constructed the permanent elevated tracks Tthus completing the elevation.

Nor is this method limited to the manner of procedure set forth anddescribed above For instancain elevating a railway comprising'three ormore tracks,:any of the tracks may be elevated first as-may be desiredtoefiect economies of construction orfacilitate the carrying of trafiicduring construction or for other reasons, leaving the other tracks tocare for the trafiic. For example, it is possible to first elevate thetwo adjoining tracks on either side of a four-track system-allowing thetwo remaining tracks to care for trafiic; or, the two central tracks maybe elevated first, leaving the two outside tracks'to care for traffic.In a system of more than four tracks, many modifications may be utilizedto best suit the local conditions.

Thus it will be seen that the method described involves the use of piersas the supporting struc- :p.

ture .for the track or tracks while in the process of being elevated butwhich piers become a necessary and integral part of the finishedstructure in that these piers or temporary supports for the tracks areso designed and constructed that after the earthen fill has been madebetween the outer apron walls and after the tracks have been located onthe fill'they become continuous members extending-transversely acrossthe space occupied by the tracks to be elevated and hold in. positionthe apron walls which are interlocked therewith and confine the fill.The piers admit of the use of a minimum amount of concrete in the apronwalls for the reason that they transfer from one apron wall to the otherthe horizontal pressure due to the fill,'the weight of the traflicthereon, and the impact caused by the trafiic moving over the tracks,the fill on the inside of one wall becoming a sustaining factor when theopposite wall is subjected to horizontal pressure.

For the ramps which are usually of considerable length and which lead upto the elevated tracks, I may employ the same method of ele.

vating and the same track and fill supporting structure composed oftransverse piers and apron walls, but, generally, for the low portionsof the ramps a further modification of my invention is put into effect,this modification involving gravity walls instead of apron walls, and

pier sections which become an integral part of the completed structurefor temporarily supporting the elevated track or tracks but not completepiers extending across the-right-of-way.

This modified system, which is adaptable particularly for the ramps, Ihave shown in Figs. 12 to 15 for both a two-track and a four-tracksystem. In this instance, transverse piers are erected along a portionof the length of the tracks to be elevatedsubstantially as hereinbewidthto sustain the fill and theload due to the traific passing over it"butare not connected by continuous piers extending from one wall to theother. will be erected on these piers as before until. the fill 29 ismade, after which thepermanently elevated tracks T will be placed on thefill.

In Figs. 12, 13, and 14 the piers are shown-extending inwardly from oneof the, gravity walls only, but in .the four-track system shown in Fig.15 they extend inwardlyxfrom both gravity walls so that the two outertracks T may beit'emporarily supported thereon while the interme- Thetemporary track or tracks T lowcr level to take care of the usualtraffic demands during the construction of the piers on which the twooutermost tracks T are temporarily supported. It will be understood, ofcourse, that after the two outer tracks '1'. are temporarily supportedon the piers 28, the intermediate track or tracks T will be removed, thefill will be made as in Fig. 13, and all the tracks permanentlysupported on the fill.

Instead of building a pier 28 as shown in these figures, i. e.,interlocked with the gravity wall sections 27, the same results can beaccomplished by superposing the piers on the back or inner side of theretaining wall. In either instance, the piers will form a supportingstructure for the tracks while being elevated and they become anintegral part of the finished structure.

This system is also adaptable where walls are to be constructed only onone side, as, for example, where there is a hill or sufiicientrightof-way on the other side to support the fill or to provide thenecessary width for the slope of the embankment on said other side.

Thus it will be seen that the objects of the invention are attained veryeffectively by the novel construction of piers formed in sections withapron walls erected between their ends and eventually extended entirelyacross the right-ofway so as to connect the two apron walls atintervals, or with gravity walls having piers extended inwardlytherefrom but not entirely across the right-of-way to support thetemporary elevated track or tracks, or, in some instances, with a singlegravity wall only with its inwardly extending piers.

With my improved method of construction and track elevation in itsvarious modified forms, the economies heretofore recited are effectedbut to the greatest extent however where the structure involves theapron walls with piers extended inwardly from these apron walls andbuilt in sections to eventually form complete monolithic piers extendingfrom one apron wall to the other.

While I have shown the preferred construction and certain modifications,I do not desire to be confined to the precise details of the method orthe structures herein illustrated and described, as still other changesmay be made, and I therefore aim in my claims to cover all modificationswhich do not involve a departure from the spirit and scope of myinvention in its broadest aspects.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A structure for supporting railway tracks during elevating thereofand providing a retaining means for fill material after the tracks havebeen elevated, comprising a series of piers arranged at intervalslengthwise of the tracks and extending across the right-of-way, andapron walls constructed along the right-of-way between the ends of thepiers and forming with the latter a series of box structures adapted toreceive fill material.

2. A supporting structure for elevated tracks comprising a series ofpiers arranged at intervals lengthwise of the tracks and extendingtransversely of the right-of-way, and apron walls constructed along theright-of-way between the ends of the piers and forming with the latter aseries of box structures adapted to receive fill material, the ends ofthe piers and the sections of the apron walls between the piers beinginterlocked.

3. A supporting structure for elevated tracks comprising a series ofpiers arranged at intervals to extend transversely of the right-of-wayand apron walls constructed along the right-of-way between the ends ofthe piers and forming with the latter a series of box structures adaptedto receive fill material, the ends of the piers having shoulders andbeing recessed inwardly from the shoulders to receive the ends of thepanels or sections of the apron walls.

4. A supporting structure for elevated railway tracks comprising aseries of reenforced concrete piers arranged at intervals and extendingtransversely of the right-of-way, reenforced concrete apron wallsconstructed between the ends of the piers and interlocked therewith soas to prevent lateral movement of the apron walls but to admit of linearexpansion and contraction thereof.

5. The method of elevating a series of railway tracks which comprisesremoving the outermost pair of tracks of the series, constructing piersections at intervals crosswise of the right-of-way and extendinginwardly from opposite sides thereof, erecting temporary elevated tracksthereon, forming retaining walls between the ends of the pier sections,removing the remainder of the tracks from between the pier sections,forming a fill between the walls and over the pier sections, andconstructing the permanent elevated tracks thereon.

6. The method of elevating railway tracks which comprises, removing thetrack along one side of the right-of-way, erecting a series of piersections extending inwardly from such one side of the right-of-way,temporarily supporting an elevated track thereon, constructing aretaining wall between the pier ends, removing the other track,completing the piers by extending them across the right of way andconstructing a retaining wall between their ends at the opposite side ofthe right-of-way, forming a fill between the walls, and placing theelevated tracks thereon.

'7. In a method of elevating a series of railway tracks the steps ofconstructing pier sections to extend inwardly from opposite sides of theright-of-way, temporarily supporting elevated tracks thereon, formingretaining walls between the ends of the pier sections and subsequentlyforming a fill between the walls and placing the elevated tracksthereon.

8. In a method of elevating a series of railway tracks the steps offorming pier sections to extend inwardly from opposite sides of theright-ofway, temporarily supporting elevated tracks thereon,constructing apron walls between the ends of the pier sections,completing the inner portions of the piers by constructing pier sectionsbetween the first named pier sections so as to form continuous piers,forming a fill in the space between the walls, and placing the elevatedtracks thereon.

9. The method of elevating a series of railway tracks which comprisesremoving one or more tracks leaving one or more at their original levelfor traffic purposes, erecting transverse pier sections along theright-of-way at spaced intervals where the removed track or tracks werepreviously located, temporarily supporting one or more elevated trackson said pier sections, removing the remaining track or tracks,completing the piers so that they will extend across the spaceoriginally occupied by the several tracks at their original level,providing retaining walls between the ends of the piers, supplying afill between the retaining walls, and placing the elevated tracks on thefill.

10. In railway construction, a track, a series of reinforced concretepiers arranged at intervals lengthwise of the track and extending acrossthe right-of-way, an apron wall extending along the track and connectedwith the ends of said piers, and a fill supporting the track andretained in place by said wall.

11. In railway construction, a track, a series of reinforced concretepiers arranged at intervals lengthwise of the track and extending acrossthe right-of-way, an apron wall extending along the track and connectedwith the ends of said piers, and a fill supporting the track andretained in place by said wall, said piers being constructed andarranged to support the track for use during the building of said Walland the making of said fill.

HOWARD E. CULBERTSON.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,160,599. May 50, 1959.

. HOWARD E. CULBERI'SON.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction as follows: In the heading to the drawings, Sheets1, 2, and 5, line 1 thereof, for the filing, date "July 5, 1959" readJuly 5, 1957 andthat the said Letters Patent shouldbe readwith thiscorrection therein Chet the same may conform to the record of the casein the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of July, A. D. 1959.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

